How Phil Foden became Man City’s invisible, invaluable talisman

During Manchester United’s recent trip to the Etihad Stadium, Phil Foden made club history by scoring a hat-trick in a Manchester derby within just nine minutes. Prior to this, the last player to achieve this feat was Andrei Kanchelskis in 1994. This streak was only broken when Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick of his own during a later derby match.

During the previous matchup between Manchester City and Manchester United, Foden scored the third goal at Old Trafford in October. However, he was overshadowed by Haaland once again. This upcoming 12th derby for Foden, who is only 23 years old, serves as another example of his impressive statistics as a relatively young player. Yet, he is still considered a supporting player on the team.

Haaland’s five-goal extravaganza against Luton, with the first four set up by Kevin De Bruyne, was a reminder of who Manchester’s power couple are: the outstanding scorer and creator respectively in the country, each in harmony with the other, helping the other chalk up absurd numbers of goals and assists.

De Bruyne’s comeback has been periodically disrupted, but overall he has made it clear that he is the top choice in the central position, which is also Foden’s preferred spot. He has consistently expressed his desire to play in the center, a sentiment that is commonly heard from locals (since he was born in nearby Stockport and is a lifelong fan of City). This has been especially evident during his exceptional performance in the winter months.

There has been a common belief that both Manchester City and the English national team should focus on developing a team centered around Phil Foden. However, there is a contrasting argument that his value lies in his versatility to perform well in any position he is needed. While he may not possess Kevin De Bruyne’s exceptional passing abilities as a central attacking midfielder, Foden is most effective in that role. Yet, he has also proven to be a dynamic player on the right or left wing, as a false nine, or as an attacking-minded central midfielder. In the year 2022, Pep Guardiola stated, “He is capable of playing in five different positions.”

It is expected that on Sunday, Foden will most likely play on the left side due to Jack Grealish’s injury. While the highly-priced player has had a lackluster season so far, Foden has excelled and had a great season.

If Haaland’s absence for two months is deemed invalid, or if his slightly inconsistent performance – despite scoring 27 goals – is held against him, Manchester City’s player-of-the-year competition may come down to three players: Rodri, Nathan Ake, and Foden.

A key aspect of measuring talent is the ability to consistently make an impact. Foden’s special abilities were noticed at a young age. He has developed into a player with more dynamic movement and pace than was initially predicted when he was given the nickname ‘the Stockport Iniesta.’ He is now more apt to overpower or quickly pass by his opponents and is also a presence in the penalty box. Additionally, he has taken on a sense of responsibility. In recent years, due to Manchester City’s dominance and abundant game-changers, he has not always needed to be the one to lead the team to victory.

During this season, he has played a significant role in City’s performance. He has stepped up when Haaland, De Bruyne, and John Stones were absent, contributing to the team’s success. In his last 13 matches, he has directly contributed to 13 goals, scoring 9 and assisting 4. His crucial interventions include the equalizer against Everton, the winning goal against Bournemouth, a hat-trick against Brentford, and assists in matches against Sheffield United and FC Copenhagen. This stands in contrast to Grealish, who has not consistently played a leading role in securing victories, except for in December.

If the players are not the same and have distinct responsibilities, one may have declined while the other has improved. Foden has already matched his previous record of 16 goals in a single season.

Although his numbers for the past four campaigns (16, 14, 15, 16) show a surface-level similarity, the number of remaining games for City and his recent performance suggest that he may hit 25 goals. This would be an impressive accomplishment, although it may be overshadowed by Haaland. To put this into perspective, last season only four players in the Premier League scored 25 goals in all competitions: Haaland, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, and Mohamed Salah. Notably, two of them primarily played as center-forwards, while the other two were their team’s top scorer. Foden, on the other hand, has shown versatility in his role.

At the moment, it might help Foden if he is not seen as the primary danger in his team. United may be cautious of various key players in this game: Haaland has already scored five goals and, if he remains at City for a while, he could surpass Wayne Rooney’s record of 11 goals in Manchester derbies. De Bruyne has provided five assists against United during Erik ten Hag’s time as manager, and Bernardo Silva has a track record of highly influential performances in games between the two Manchester teams.

During his time, Foden has been a part of a dominant City team who expects to come out on top in most of their matches. He has achieved eight wins in eleven attempts, with some help from brief appearances during his early years.

One ongoing debate was whether a young talented player would have ample opportunities if he chose to transfer. However, he has now achieved over 250 appearances with City and is a versatile and talented player. Even if there are aspects of his role that he struggles with, his value to Guardiola is immeasurable.

Source: independent.co.uk